'I knew I was cactus': Jet boater tells of epic night lost in the bay

There was just one thing on Joe Papez's mind after nearly 24 hours lost and alone in the "tad nippy" Port Phillip Bay – a good latte with an extra shot.

The 59-year-old was reunited with his anxious family shortly on Monday morning after spending an epic night huddled in a ball inside his Sea-Doo jet boat, which had run aground on a mud bank.

The man is reunited with his family after spending a night on the bay. Credit:Seven News

The caffeine lover from Wyndham Vale, who has his own roving coffee van in Geelong, got lost amid the thick fog that blanketed the bay after he set out for joy cruise from the Werribee South boat ramp about 10am on Sunday.

He called triple zero for help when he realised he wasn't going to make it back to land, but emergency crews couldn't find him because the GPS coordinates he sent were wrong.

Advertisement

Murphy's law truly kicked in when his phone went flat.

"I was expecting to be rescued before dark, but it when it finally went pitch black I knew I was cactus - I knew it was an overnighter," Mr Papez said.

"The fog was so thick and I knew they were not going to come because they couldn't see diddly-squat."

Mr Papez had warm clothing, and the two life jackets on board added extra layers, but his feet were numb and the condensation dripping from the vessel's canopy meant he was not only cold, but wet.

He said it was "a tad nippy" overnight. Credit:Seven News

He was finally discovered by a kayaker at Kirks Point, near Point Wilson.

"I've got to thank him," Mr Papez said. "He was cruising down and I waved him over. I think I've seen him before one morning when I was kayaking. He came over and said 'I think people are looking for you'. Thankfully he had a full phone [battery] and spoke to triple zero."

Mr Papez regrets this was his "15 minutes" of fame, but he remains upbeat about the ordeal and has vowed to return to the water, albeit with an upgraded GPS system and an EPIRB locator beacon.

"It all just means I want to get a bigger boat," he said. "I raced motorcycles, and if you don't crash you're not trying hard enough.

"I love it, and I even loved this. It was a little unintended, but good still ... it would have been much worse if I was in the wrong clothes."

He said he had plenty of water on board, but was forced to skip a meal, reasoning that was not such a bad thing for a man of his size.

He was reunited with his family about 8am on Monday, who had waited all night in the car at the boat ramp for him.

Mr Papez's first port of call was a coffee from the nearest cafe, followed by a good sleep.

He thanked the police, State Emergency Service crews and the Geelong salvage business who all helped in his rescue.